Mitsubishi HC8000D-BL3D Home Theater Projector

2D to 3D Conversion. The HC8000D-BL has a 2D to 3D conversion system that produces superb results. Usually, 2D to 3D conversion is something of an afterthought, and the resultant 3D picture is only marginally three-dimensional. On many projectors the trade-off of brightness and discomfort that you get from wearing 3D glasses makes 2D to 3D conversion not worth the hassle. However, on the HC8000D-BL, the results of 2D to 3D conversion are more dramatic and engaging than on competitive models. What you end up with is an actual 3D picture that is worthy of the name, and fans of 3D will definitely want to experiment with it using their favorite 2D movies.

Placement Flexibility. The HC8000D-BL has a 1.5:1 manual zoom lens that loses only 9% of the projector's lumen output over the zoom range. Most projectors with long zooms lose much more than that. It is not unusual to see 15% to 25% loss in a 1.5:1 zoom lens. The projector also has vertical lens shift that allows for a movement range of 34% of the image's height. However, the HC8000D-BL always has an upward throw. At the bottom of the range, the bottom edge of the image is 12% of the image's height above the lens' centerline, while at the top of the range it is 47%.

120Hz 3D Drive. One of the issues on the HC7800D was an appearance of flickering instability in 3D. This was apparently caused in part by the projector's 3D refresh rate of 96 Hz, which is low enough that flicker sometimes appears. This has been rectified on the HC8000D-BL by adding a 120Hz 3D option. By engaging this menu option, the projector ups the frame rate to 60 frames per second per eye, which is quite effective at reducing flicker.

6x speed color wheel. The HC8000D-BL uses a six-segment RGBRGB color wheel. By default, the color wheel is 4x speed, meaning that each color is refreshed four times per frame. However, at the cost of a tiny amount of color gradation, you can switch the projector into 6x speed mode, thereby reducing the chances you'd ever see a rainbow artifact to just about zero. And the evidence of reduced color gradation appears so rarely that it is not worth worrying about. We were not able to detect it during testing. This feature is only available in 2D.

Frame Rate Conversion. Frame Rate Conversion, or FRC, is Mitsubishi's frame interpolation system. It has a number of different settings. True Film is a mild enhancement meant to smooth out 24 fps film content without making that content appear artificial, while True Video is a more aggressive setting appropriate for 30 frame per second video. Either of these settings can be adjusted on a 1-5 scale for intensity, with 1 being the least aggressive and 5 being the most. Our test unit defaulted to True Film 4, which is unobtrusive but subtly effective. Only the staunchest opponents of frame interpolation will find the default settings objectionable, in which case they can always turn it off.

ISF Calibration Ready. The HC8000D-BL is ISFccc certified. If you have the projector calibrated by a professional, you'll gain access to two additional image modes, called ISF Day and ISF Night. Your calibrator will have tailored these modes for optimal picture quality in your theater. Until you have the projector calibrated, they will not appear in the mode list, but rest assured that they exist.

Reader Comments(14 comments)

Posted Jan 26, 2014 5:32:28 AM

By Image Processor

Any time you see "DLP", think what's the lifetime, can the DLP be replaced, and how much does it cost. The DLP I had only lasted about four years. Sure, it's possible that in four years the image display systems will inject it straight into our visual cortex, but maybe not....

Posted Oct 9, 2012 10:30:22 AM

By Bill Livolsi

Singing Italian, JoeBoy, Joe - That depends on a couple of things. Let's say you're using Cinema mode at full power. If you have a 1.3-gain screen, you can go to 120" at 16:9 and still get 18 fL. If you want to use Eco mode, you should stay closer to 100"-110" diagonal.

You can do a 100" diagonal 16:9 screen with the HC8000D in 3D and still get a picture that is bright enough. So the ideal, at least for me, is a 100" diagonal 1.3-gain screen. With 2D, you can do Cinema Eco, and with 3D you can do 3D at full power. You get a pleasantly bright picture in each instance.

2.4:1 is tricky. I am assuming you are not using an anamorphic lens and are just zooming the picture to fit, in which case the same numbers apply - 120" diagonal for full power and 100" diagonal for eco. You get slightly lower average illumination but not enough to throw the projector out of the acceptable range.

Wondering - No, I don't think so. The HC7900 and HC8000 accept the HDMI 1.4 3D formats, but they show you 60 frames per second per eye. That doesn't mean they can accept direct 120Hz.

chris - it's not 6x per color per second, it's 6x per color per frame. I can also guarantee that your HW300T does not have a 6x speed refresh rate.

Posted Oct 6, 2012 11:32:49 PM

By ilya

Posted Oct 6, 2012 1:05:20 PM

By chris

You wrote "you can switch the projector into 6x speed mode, thereby reducing the chances you'd ever see a rainbow artifact to just about zero". I have a HW300T LED projector. I can see rainbow artifacts quite easily depending on the material. So are you implying that the refresh rate on my projector is less than 6 refreshed images per colour per second? More importantly, are you saying that a 6 refresh rate is the magic number I need to not see rainbow artifacts?

Posted Oct 3, 2012 10:41:45 AM

By Singing Italian

Hey Bill can you let us know what size screen the HC8000D-BL can handle in a darken room. Im assuming its what the HC7800 can do since no information was posted,and what about screen size for 3D.

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